Larisa Provotorova

Media Agencies and Media Mix

What is Media Agency?

Definition

Media agencies advise companies on how and where to advertise, and on how to present a positive picture of themselves to the public. Primary services include advertising, public relations and other forms of media management.

Media Landscape [Examples of good media agencies]

Definition

The means of communication that reach large numbers of people, such as television, newspapers, and radio .When media refers to the mass media, it is sometimes treated as a singular form, as in: the media has shown great interest in these events. Many people think this use is incorrect and that media should always be treated as a plural form: the media have shown great interest in these events.

Organisation and elements of Media Agencies

Advantages and Disadvantages of Media Agencies

Advantages:

Extensive skills, resources and experiences
Media agencies can specialise in certain fields
Variety of services to match all budgets
Saves the firm time
Easy to change the teams creating your marketing

Disadvantages:

Likely to cost more than in house marketing
Risk of inadvertent marketing leaks prior to launch date
Media Agencies may not understand the firm’s vision
Media Agencies may not be as enthusiastic as you are
There is a chance the agency may have competitors on their books

What are the tasks of Media Agencies?

Consumer understanding

Statistics

Research shows that 55% of consumers are willing to pay more for a guaranteed good experience. Kolsky points out the word ‘guaranteed’, noting customers are no longer satisfied with just being promised a good experience.

86% of consumers are willing to pay more for an upgraded experience. Air travel and hospitality are examples where upselling better experiences can generate incremental revenue and bolster customer loyalty.

84% of consumers are frustrated when the agent does not have information.

Customer frustration leads to the following: 13% tell 15 or more people if they’re unhappy. Conversely, 72% of consumers will share a positive experience with 6 or more people.

67% of consumers site bad experiences as reason for churn.

50% of customer experience natural occurring churn every 5 years.

Only 1 out of 26 unhappy customers complain. The rest churn. A lesson here is that companies should not view absence of feedback as a sign of satisfaction. The true enemy is indifference.

91% of unhappy customers who are non-complainers simply leave.

It is 6-7X more expensive for companies to attract new customers than to keep existing customers.

65% of companies are able to successfully upsell or cross-sell to existing customers.

Only 12% of companies are able to successfully upsell or cross-sell to new customers.

75% of brands do not know what engagement means – but are measuring “it”

Development

Media Mix

Definition

Media Mix refers to the combination of advertising channels that is used in the promotion of a particular good or service. The idea is to choose the right combination to communicate with the audience and make an impact as estimated in the media planning strategy.

Channels

Steps to create

Clarify business considerations

Identify the business considerations that will inform your content mix. These may include:

Industry expertise. This may sound obvious, but it’s surprising how far companies can wander from their area of expertise. I’ve seen technical communication companies write about the fear of flying, and electrical supply companies share their favorite recipes. Your business content should focus on what your business does best.

Brand focus. Has your company built its reputation by providing guidance? Or does it entertain? Inspire? Surprise? Are you a fun company? A serious company? Traditional? Every piece of content that you create needs to reinforce your brand in some way.

Audience goals. Why will your audience spend time reading your articles? Do they want to learn something? Do they want a distraction from their busy lives? Do they want to find something worth sharing? Your audience’s goals will help to define the purpose of your content.

Audience interests. If you sell pet food, your audience is probably interested in learning about pet health and nutrition. And if you make running shoes, you can assume your audience is interested in running and fitness. You have a great opportunity to happily surprise your readers by finding the sweet spot that intersects your industry expertise and their interests. Your audience’s interests will help define content topics.

Available resources. You need to know what resources are available. How many content contributors do you have? What are their skill sets? How much time do they have? Resources are a key consideration when defining the method of presentation and editorial schedule.

Define the purpose of your content

Refer to your brand focus and your audience’s goals to identify the right mix of content purposes. Each piece of content should have one clearly defined purpose—no more, no less. Sure, you may argue that you want to both entertain AND inform, but unless you clarify which purpose trumps the other in this particular piece of content, you’re likely to fail in both. Some common purposes include:

To inform (conceptual knowledge)

To teach (how to)

To inspire

To entertain

To persuade

To start a conversation

To spark a controversy

To express an opinion

To share industry knowledge or resources

Identify typical content presentation methods

Your brand focus and available resources are the key drivers behind presentation methods, but certainly your audience’s goals and interests play a role as well. Some common presentation methods include:

Articles or blog posts

Infographics

Videos

Cartoon drawings

Animations

Tutorials

Podcasts

Presentations

Decide on the most effective content mix and schedule

Finding the best content mix is all about proportions. Although the foundation of your content marketing efforts may be based on educating your audience through informative articles, you may also want to entertain them through infographics and cartoons so that they have something fun to share. Remember, all content should fall within your area of expertise and reinforce your brand.

Once you’ve identified your ideal content mix, include it with your editorial calendar and present it in a way that’s easy to communicate. For example: